Laos and Vietnam will finalise border-related documents by 2014

Laos and Vietnam will finalise border-related documents by 2014 following the completion of a project to restore and build demarcation points along the countries’ shared border in July. According to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thongloun Sisoulith, Leaders of the two countries hailed the success of demarcation and described it as a remarkable achievement in Laos-Vietnam relations.

The announcement was made yesterday at a meeting between officials of both countries in Vietnam’s Nghe An province. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Thongloun Sisoulith, and his Vietnamese counterpart, Pham Binh Minh, co-chaired the meeting, which was attended by deputy ministers and officials of the 10 provinces along the border. The meeting aimed to conclude the border demarcation project, which added and restored markers along the 2,067 km Laos-Vietnam border.

At the Monday the 19th of August meeting, the two foreign ministers presented certificates of congratulations to one another’s organisations and officials in recognition of their contribution to the project. The meeting also praised the hard work of operational officials on both sides of the border for helping the project reach completion. Finalising the border was expected to boost cooperation and development between the two countries and improve the livelihood of their two peoples, especially those living along the border.

Laos has already concluded demarcation with China and Myanmar, with shared borders of 505 km and 236 km respectively. The Lao and Thai governments have resumed border work following a six-year hiatus and plan to complete demarcation of their shared land border by 2015 and their river border by 2017.

Demarcation along the 735 km land border with Thailand is at least 93 percent complete, but work on the 1,100 km water boundary is still in its early stages.

According to information provided recently by the Foreign Ministry, 86 percent of border demarcation on the shared 535 km border between Laos and Cambodia is now complete and work is still continuing in the area.

On July 9, the governments of the two countries held a ceremony at the Thanh Thuy-Nam On border crossing between Nghe An and Borikhamxay provinces to mark the completion of the project.

Leaders of the two countries hailed the success of demarcation and described it as a remarkable achievement in Laos-Vietnam relations. In 1986, Laos and Vietnam finished installing 214 markers along their shared border and in 2008, the governments of the two countries began the project to restore and add new markers, bringing the total to 835.